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Beginning Feb. 1st each year, a seasonal wildlife closure will be in effect on Redgarden Wall in Eldorado Canyon State Park to protect nesting and roosting sites of the canyons falcons. The closure is in effect through July 31st unless lifted early due to early fledging or inactivity.

Description

Just left of the main Darkness 'til Dawn dihedral is a very obvious groove that continues past a small tree. This route is not in the guide, but I've eyed it more than once over the years. We finally climbed it, thinking it might be 10 or so, but since the gear looked to be good, so why not have a go? It turns out it's 9- or so with very good gear and very good climbing. What looks like the crux, moving left where DtD starts its real climbing, turns out to be easy. The actual crux is above the tree in the green corner. The corner eventually blanks out. Move up and right to get some decent holds. From here, the best choice is to continue right into upper DtD. We chose to move left around the arete into a left-facing corner and up to a questionable anchor. Chuck tried to continue up the corner to the DtD anchors, but it got hard, and he had little gear, so we ended up backing up the anchor in the corner and rapping from there. This anchor seems to exist for those who rap from the top of Grandmother's Challenge with a single rope.

Route details: start as for Darkness 'til Dawn or just left and climb up to where DtD enters the crack system on the right wall. Instead, move right and layback up to gain the groove. Moderate climbing leads to a small tree. You could move left here into the left facing corner, but instead, continue up the green corner above. Where it starts to blank out, make a move up and right to get some decent hand holds. Either move right to DtD or stem left to the arete and then left around the corner and up to the anchor.

Location

Protection

Standard rack to #2/gold Camalot. If you continue to the Darkness 'til Dawn anchors, you'll need a 70m or double ropes to get down, or will need to downclimb a bit. If you finish to the left, be prepared to back up the fixed anchor.

I don't think this is what Rossiter is describing as the original Green slab. For both the original and Green Slab direct, he says "Climb a steep slab." The Erickson Rocky Height guide says this of the regular Green Slab: "...begins in the same spot [as the direct] but traverses right before the roof...." In any case neither the variation described here or the original Green Slab to the left gets any traffic. This variation should get a lot more traffic. The original Green Slab perhaps not.
Mar 12, 2006

This variation is wicked fun.... I liked it almost more than DtD. Staying in the dihedral at the top is run out and much harder than any part of DtD, but it is easily avoided by finishing on DtD.
Sep 7, 2011